Can't Loose You 2- Strider's return
by UnicornsIlovethem321
Summary: Strider has broken from his frozen prison and is now out for revenge on the Gru's. But his target isn't Lucy this time.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey this is my current Fanfic account I'll be posting on now. My laptop wouldn't let me into my other one. So this is the beginning of Can't Loose You 2- Strider's return!**

Dru, Stan and Jake turned their heads sharply, only to notice that Strider was completely gone, there was only a pile of broken ice in his place.  
"Where did he go?" Asked Stan, still shaking from the cold of the icy henchmen that where previously restraining him.  
"I'm not sure. Don't worry I'll get backup from the AVL to help me find him, in the meantime Dru needs to phone an ambulance!" Jake gabbled.  
Dru was about to get his cell phone from his pocket when Strider appeared in the doorway, holding a strange device.  
"What do you think you're doing gentlemen?"  
Jake, Stan and Dru all got into fighting stances, ready to knock him into next week.  
"Oh please there is no need for that boys." Strider chuckled, pointing the mysterious device he held in his hand, straight at them.  
Before Dru, Jake or Stan had time to blink they felt a painful sensation travel up their bodies and they could feel themselves changing.

Lucy looked into her husband's kind gaze and smiled back at him. She had only been in the hospital for a couple of hours and it already felt like an eternity but as long as Gru was there next to her, then she was happy.  
"You OK sweetie?" Asked Gru  
"Meh, not really sure if OK is the word for it." Lucy replied, leaning back in the bed.  
Gru pressed his lips together and stroked Lucy's hand, being careful of her drip that had been recently inserted.  
The two sat in silence for a while before Gru broke it by letting out a tired sigh.  
"I'm worried, Lucy. Why haven't Dru and Jake called me yet? It's been almost three hours."  
"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll phone soon. I just hope that they get Stan safely out of there, after all he's done for us." Lucy answered.  
She stared sadly at her bandaged wrists and her drip. She just couldn't believe the events that had previously occurred, she was positive that they would haunt her for a very long time.  
But at least she had Gru and the girls safe. Come to think of it, it would cheer her up to see the girls!  
"Gru? Could I see the girls tomorrow?" Asked Lucy "please?"  
Gru thought for a moment. He would love the girls to be able to see their mother again, especially after being apart from her for so long. But Lucy wasn't in the best mental state and despite there was bandages covering her wounds, you could still see the blood coming through a little bit.  
"We'll see how you are in the morning." Gru said, patting Lucy's hand.  
Lucy silently nodded and continued to stare at her wrists.  
Strider grinned as he walked into his office, followed by Jake, Stan and Dru.  
"Right first we need a plan!" Strider announced.  
Dru and Stan both shrugged but Jake stepped forward, with a devious smile on his face.  
"I have a plan master." He said "we need to get into the Gru residence and kidnap Gru."  
"Listen, Jake, I didn't turn you evil so we could catch the penguin! I need the redhead!" Strider bellowed, slapping his forehead.  
"No, no! You don't understand! You're right that Gru is useless and we don't need to keep him like we need to Lucy, but I have an idea on how he can intertwine with the plan."  
Strider raised an eyebrow at Jake before saying: "Explain how he can intertwine with the plan!"  
"If we kidnap Gru and use that device on him that you used to turn us evil, then we could make him kidnap Lucy and give her to us!" Jake explained "and when we have the redhead, we'll kill Gru and send his little brats back to the orphanage!"  
Strider chuckled loudly, applauding Jake as he did.  
"You're young but defiantly not stupid Jakey!" Strider sniggered.  
"Cheers sir. Now let's make our next stop: the Gru residence!"  
Oh dear! It looks like it's not over yet for Strider and his revenge plot. Next chapter is coming soon!


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy tossed and turned in the dark, failing to sleep. Her heart monitor's slow, emotionless beeping and just the presence of her drip where disturbing her sleep. But what was really keeping her awake was her fear, fear that Strider would come back. Gru hadn't heard anything from Dru and Jake all day so something was clearly wrong.  
She clutched her pillow tight and squeezed her eyes shut, as an attempt to fall asleep but it didn't help. She could see nurses shoes walking up and down the corridor in their high heels, yet another thing keeping her awake. She didn't have her phone on her as Strider had broken it, so she couldn't text Gru to tell him what was on her mind.  
She lay on her back with her arms stretched out and sighed. She tried to flood herself with happy memories of her family, like the time when her and the girls played their favourite game: Princesses, Unicorns and Dragons, when she was just starting to date Gru. She had been playing Princess #1, Margo was Princess #2, Agnes was The Magic Unicorn and Edith was an evil dragon. It was a silly game that didn't really make much sense but they all loved every second of it.  
Lucy felt her eyelids droop and she smiled as she drifted off to sleep.  
The morning arrived quicker than expected and Lucy felt her excitement arise as she knew that Gru was coming and hopefully he would be bringing the girls with him.

"Come on gurls up yoo get, we're seeing your mum today." Gru announced, walking into the girl's room.

"Yay!" Agnes yelled, leaping out of her bomb bed "We'll be able to play princess games, oh oh! And she can see Lucky, Kyle and the minions! Right? Can we take them with us?"

Gru bit his lip, trying to think up a reply to his youngest child. She didn't understand the condition that her mother was in but he should probably warn her that she wouldn't be in the best state.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but mummy might not be up to seeing Lucky, Kyle or de minions today." Gru said.

Agnes' face fell and she muttered a small "why?"

Margo and Edith's faces looked up in concern.

"Because, your mummy is really poorly sweetheart and she's very tired so I don't think she is up to too many guests." Gru replied.

Agnes nodded silently as she pulled a pink and purple fairy dress over her head.

"Why are yoo wearing dat Agnes? Yoo know dat dress is only for dress up games and fancy dress parties!" Gru scolded, he was already as anxious and stressed as he was, he didn't need Agnes to mess around like this.

"I want to wear it. This is the first thing mummy bought me when she was dating you! I just know that she'd love to see me in it!"

Gru couldn't help but smile at Agnes, so innocent, thoughtful and sweet. He just couldn't say no to her and he knew all too well that Lucy would be pleased to see her in that dress.

"Alright. You can wear it."

"Yay!" Agnes cheered, yanking a pair of glittery tights to go with it.

Margo and Edith stuck to normal items of clothing. Margo wore a black T-shirt with a red rose, a pair of jeans, black socks, red converse and a brown jacket. Edith wore a pink T-shirt with a black skull on the front, her pink hat (of course), a pair of denim shorts, pink socks and white trainers. Gru stuck to his normal, everyday clothing.

Just then Agnes picked up a Disney Rapunzel doll and showed it to Gru.

"Could I take her with me? She's only one more guest." Agnes pouted.

Gru stiffed a small chuckle. Before saying "yes of course you can honey."

Lucy sat up in bed, reading a Harry Potter book. She wasn't really concentrating on it though, she was more concerned about whether Gru and the girls where going to show up and if Dru, Jake and Stan where alright, than Hagrid telling Harry that he was a wizard.  
She put down the book and looked at her wrists again, before squeezing her eyes shut as her mind filled with the horrible memories of Strider.

"I can't cope with this anymore!" She whispered to herself, resting her head in her hands and slowly rocking backwards and forwards.  
More disturbing memories flooded through her head and equally disturbing thoughts entered. She kept thinking about if Strider was to come back. What would he do? What if he killed her and Gru? Who would be his next target after he killed them? What if he's already killed Dru, Stan and Jake? Who would look after the girls? What if he kills the girls?

Thankfully she was pulled out of her disturbing thoughts as she heard the door creak open.

"Hello Mrs Gru, I've got Mr Gru, Margo, Edith and Agnes Gru here." A nurse said.

Lucy lit up when she heard the names of her beautiful girls being mentioned.

"Send them straight in please."

The Nurse nodded and ushered in Gru, Margo, Edith and Agnes.

"Mummy!" Agnes cried, rushing up to her mum's bedside. But when she saw all the tubes coming out of the drip in Lucy's hand, the heart monitor, the bandages in casing Lucy's wrists, the small plaster on her neck and the large plaster on her face, she hung back.

"Hi darling. It's alright, I'm fine, just a bit wrapped up but don't worry I feel perfect." Lucy rasped. Due to how much knockout gas and other germs she inhaled in Strider's lair, Lucy had been struggling to speak without sounding like she had a hole in her throat.

Although she had only been trying to cheer Agnes up a little and calm her nerves, Lucy still slightly cringed at the way she had spoken to her little girl. Even a child as innocent Agnes shouldn't be monicuddled in such a serious situation but Lucy didn't want to frighten her with the truth.

"Hi Lucy!" Edith yelled running up to her.

"Hey my little ninja." Lucy said, giving Edith a fist bump.

"Hello Lucy." Margo mumbled, anxiously.

"Hi sweetie. Don't be so scared, I'm alright."

Margo nodded silently and hung onto the side of the bed.

"We drew you some pictures for you at school yesterday!" Agnes shouted, pulling some paper out of a unicorn rucksack.

"Oh they're lovely." Lucy cooed, looking at them with a warm smile on her face.

There where three pictures, one from Margo, one from Edith and one from Agnes. Margo had drawn a picture of a large yellow sunflower in a grassy field, surrounded by blue sky with the sun lurking in the corner. The words Get Well Soon, Lucy xxx where written at the top.  
Edith had drawn a stick figure in a ninja outfit on holding a sword with a speech bubble coming out of it's mouth with the words: Get Well Soon! :-) coming out of it.  
Lastly, Agnes had drawn her and Lucy riding a blue unicorn with a pink mane and a yellow horn. A rainbow was arched over them with: Get Well Soon mummy! Written across it.  
Lucy drew Margo, Edith and Agnes into a big hug and kissed the tops of their heads individually.

"Thank you my little kittens"

Gru smiled and stepped closer towards the bed holding a bunch of pink, yellow, red and white roses.

"I haven't said hello to yoo yet have I?" Gru said, chuckling slightly as he grabbed a seat and perched next to the bed.

"No I don't believe you have" Lucy replied, before leaning over and kissing him.

"Ewww!" Edith groaned, making everyone chuckle.

"Gurls, would I be able to have a private word with Lucy please?" Gru asked.

The girls looked at him with disappointed glances but they did as they where told and reluctantly slipped outside.

"Thanks gurls."

"Bye my little kittens" Lucy called, before turning to face Gru with a serious expression on her face "so what's happening?"

Gru took his wife's hand and looked into her wide emerald eyes.

"I'm afraid dat Dru, Stan and Jake haven't got back to me yet." Gru replied, his face falling.

Lucy sighed and lowered her head. Letting a quiet "oh" escape through her lips.  
Gru saw how worried she was and put his arm around her. He knew that she had known Jake since Middle School and would be heart broken if something had happened to him.

"I'm so worried Gru. What if Strider has...K...killed them?" Lucy stuttered on the brink of tears.

"Don't worry, he hasn't, I promise." Gru tried to reassure her, stroking her back.

But Gru couldn't be too sure either.

Time went quickly by and visiting hours came to an end.

Lucy hated goodbyes and she found it hard to wave off her caring husband and sweet little girls but she knew that she needed to.

"Bye, girls! I'll see you soon." Lucy called as Gru took the girls far enough down the corridor as he could before returning to Lucy's room for the last time that day.

"Bye sweetheart. I love yoo so much and don't yoo worry, the whole Strider thing will soon blow over and the Dru and the others will come back. I promise." Gru said, giving his wife a final kiss on the cheek.

"Goodbye honey bear" Lucy whispered as Gru backed out of the room.

Strider strummed his fingers anxiously, he hated relocating lairs, it made him so tied and cranky, as well as, nervous, travel sick and impatient. But he supposed that it was all worth it because if he wanted to kidnap Gru and make him kill Lucy then he didn't want the pesky AVL to find him.

"Are we almost there yet?" Asked Strider.

"Almost master" replied Dru, who was currently steering Strider's airship that used to be hidden in the back of his now previous lair, with help from Stan and Jake.

From the afar they could just see the tip of the of the lair sticking up.

"It looks perfect..." Strider chuckled as the airship drew closer towards it.

 **Well that's the end of this chapter and boy I'm having so much fun writing this! I loved doing this chapter because I just had it all there in my head and all I had to do was give it a couple of tweaks. For example, originally this chapter was going to be much shorter and centred around Lucy and Gru telling the girls the dark truth about what Strider put Lucy through and how ill she really was. But then I decided that Lucy and Gru just wouldn't be able to that, it seemed quite out of character for them, especially Lucy, who would want the girls to continue their lives happily and not to worry about her.**  
 **Another thing that was tweaked was that Strider wasn't going to be involved in this chapter at all, not even a mention by any of the characters but as I was writing I decided to add him in places because I don't think that this chapter would make much sense without seeing how Lucy is struggling with him looming in her memories. I also wanted to make an update on what was happening with Strider, just so the story could flow.**  
 **Wow! 1989 words! This was a long chapter (well maybe not that long)! I don't know how long my other chapters are going to be yet but hopefully even if they're short, they'll be good.**  
 **Comment what you thought about this chapter and what you think is gonna happen next (you don't have to if you don't want to)**  
 **See you guys for the next chapter in the next few days! Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy smiled at her new scar free cheek in her pink bedside mirror that Gru had bought her. It had been a month since Strider had kidnapped her and caused her serious physical and emotional damage.  
Throughout the time that she had been in hospital, Gru had bought her almost anything that you could think of, books, clothes, slippers, hair stuff, a light pink mirror, magazines, chocolate, lollies, flowers and even a pink and blue teddy with her name on it. But Lucy's favourite things that Gru had bought her was a silk blue night dress with puffed sleeves and a frilly skirt and a fluffy pink bathrobe. Lucy saw Gru, the girls and the things they got her as a distraction to her mindset and pain, so that was an upside about being isolated in hospital.  
But of course there where many downsides about being isolated in hospital. She had to have stitches on her cheek which hurt a lot, she had to take painkillers and antibiotics every four hours, she had to have a series of blood tests and injections, going to the toilet was a struggle, the food was gross and she had to lie next to a really irritating heart monitor that wouldn't shut up.  
Lucy lay back in the bed and rubbed her sore arm where she had had a blood test that morning. Lucy naturally didn't like blood tests (because who does?) but she wasn't scared of them at all, in her eyes there where more scary things in life, particularly at the moment.  
Jake and company still hadn't got back to them so Gru had called the AVL search party to look for them but so far, no avail.  
But there could be some news as Gru and the girls where meant to be coming for one last visit, after lunch before Lucy could finally go home again.  
Lucy was so excited to go home, sleep in her own bed, wear more than just a nightdress and most importantly, being able to see Gru and the girls more than once a day.  
Just then, Gru walked in. He had a smile on his face, a gift under his arm and three girls tagging along behind him.

"Hey sweetheart, how are yoo feeling?" He asked, perching on a chair next to her bed and taking her hand.

"Much better, thanks. I'm so excited to go home again!" Lucy gabbled, grinning.

"When are you coming home, mummy?" Agnes asked.

"Hopefully tonight, angel"

"You can't call me that! That's your middle name!" Agnes exclaimed.

Lucy chuckled at the innocent little girl beside her bed. She then noticed Margo glued to her phone.

"Hey, Margo" She called.

The girl looked up from her device and smiled, apologetically at her mum.

"Hi, Lucy. Sorry I was talking to Avery." Margo said, stuffing her phone into her jacket pocket

"It's alright, honey"

Lucy then drew her attention to Edith, who looked anxiously back at her.

"Hi Edith, are you alright?" Asked Lucy, holding out her arms to her.

Edith felt tears in her eyes as she nodded at Lucy. For the last month, since her mum's kidnapping had occurred, Edith had been getting progressively nervous and would even refuse to get up for school some mornings. She was worried that Lucy could be really sick and that she was just hiding it with fake smiles and giggles. She was worried that more damage had happened to Lucy than the doctors had realized and that she would need to go into hospital again. But most of all she had just really missed her.  
Edith ran into her mum's arms and tried to blink back tears.

"I've been really worried about you" She wailed

"Hey, hey, hey, it's ok. Sweetie, I'm alright. I'm coming home soon! Yay!"

Gru decided to step in and put a comforting arm around Edith.

"Eet's going to be alright, keeten." He soothed, rubbing Edith's back.

"Is Edith ok?" Asked Agnes, cuddling up to Margo.

"I think that she might need a little alone time with mum and dad. Come on, let's go." Margo instructed, taking her little sister by the hand. "We'll be right back, ok?"

"Ok." Gru whispered, still comforting Edith, who was now in hysterics.

About ten minutes passed before Edith had properly calmed down. Gru and Lucy had seen Margo and Agnes cry like that before, mostly over petty things like: "He broke up with me!" or "My unicorn toy is broken!" but they had never seen Edith do something like that. Maybe Edith only cried over big things.

"Edith, honey, could yoo join yoor seesters while Lucy and I have a quick chat?" Asked Gru.  
"

S...sure" Edith mumbled, wiping her remaining tears away.

"Bye, bye Edith, I'll see you later. Love you." Lucy called.

"Love you too, mum. I'm sorry for crying."

"Don't be sorry, baby. I've been crying this week, too." Lucy said, kissing Edith on the cheek.

When Edith stepped outside, to find her sisters, Lucy and Gru instantly began talking.

"Poor, little Edith." Lucy said "all three of them must be really worried right now."

"They are. They've started to ask complex questions." Gru replied.

"What do you mean by complex?" Asked Lucy, leaning back a bit.

"Like: "Where's Uncle Dru?" "Why was mummy taken?" "Why is mummy sick?" All dat stuff."

Lucy looked down at the pale sheets, covering her body and sighed.

"I am so worried about the Dru and the others. What if something's happened to them?" She cried

"I know, so am I. I don't understand why they've suddenly disappeared like dat. Valerie sent search parties out a while ago and still nothing!"

Lucy bit her lip and took her husband's hand, leaning towards him as close as she could.

"Maybe, when I've completely healed, we should take matters into our own hands" Lucy suggested, but then regretted. If it was something to do with Strider, she was sure to get kidnapped again, or even worse, Gru or the girls would get kidnapped too.

"We'll see. I just don't want yoo getting hurt again" Gru sighed "I don't think dat I could go through that much fear of loosing you, again."

Lucy nodded, understanding greatly. It was awful enough having to suffer torture and patronizing from a truly wicked villain but to know that Gru was suffering too, just would've made it worse.

"We'll decide what to do when I come home, ok?"

"Yeah." Gru muttered, stroking his wife's hand "Oh, I got you this."

Gru passed her a small parcel, wrapped in blue and silver striped wrapping paper. Lucy unwrapped it to find a tiny cardboard box, that had been scribbled on with coloured pens. She opened the box to find a homemade necklace made out of wooden and plastic, coloured beads.

"It's beautiful." Lucy breathed.

"Margo, Edith and Agnes made eet, clearly."

Lucy smiled at her husband. Gru leant down and gave her a kiss on the fringe, making Lucy giggle, before kissing him on the nose.

"See you later, honey" Gru said, backing towards the door.

"Bye, honey bear." Lucy called back.

The door shut and Lucy leaned back, grinning. The girls always had a way of making her happy.

 **Hey guys, sorry the chapter was short but I've got to go out. I'll try and upload another one later. Sorry for my absence btw, let's just say it was the Easter Holidays, a hospital trip happened and I came home and got poorly with a sick bug (yay), so yeah, that's why I haven't been writing. I also have so many fanfics to complete and so many internet projects to do, plus school GCSE stuff. Soz I'm making my life sound awful when it isn't lol.**

 **BTW the formatting has changed a bit because when I looked at my last chapter I was shocked at how crowded it was. Hopefully you'll be able to read this easier. The formatting of the last chapter will be changing too.**

 **Anyway, hopeful that the next chapter will be uploaded soon and also my new Kim Possible fanfic will be too. Until then, bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

The door opened and Gru and Lucy emerged. Lucy was so excited to be back in her cosy house again, but most importantly with her husband and girls again.

"Yoo ok, honey?" Gru asked, eyeing his wife.

"Yes! I'm just really excited to be back! But also quite nervous, I guess." Lucy replied

"Why?" Gru asked.

"Because, there is so much going on! Jake, Dru and Stan are nowhere to be found and Valarie isn't doing much about it, I'm having terrible nightmares and mental issues, your worried about me so that's making you stressed and the girls don't understand what's going on!" Lucy snapped.

Gru didn't reply, he just put his arms around her and held her close. He understood where his wife was coming from, it was really nerve racking at the moment, but there wasn't a thing that they could do, until Lucy was completely better.

* * *

Strider walked into his new lair and grimaced. It was currently very dirty and it looked and smelt like it hadn't been touched in years.

"This place is disgusting! Oh well, at least I have my little team to help me sort it out." Strider said, before looking at Dru "well, what are you waiting for? Get cleaning!"

"Awwwwww man!" Dru moaned, as Strider handed him a broom, cleaning liquid and a mop. As he started to clean, he kept noticing bugs and spiders in every corner of the lair and freaked out.

"Ewwwwwwwwww! Heeeeeellllpppp!" He cried.

"Man, even when he's evil, he still acts like a dweeb." Strider said, rolling his eyes.

"What do you want me to do, sir?" Asked Jake.

"Look for an area that I could put a dungeon, sharp! As for you, Stan, I want you to help me plan the decorating. And after we're finished, we can put my plan into action!"

"MY plan, you mean!" Jake yelled.

"Alright YOUR plan if you want to get technical!" Strider moaned.

* * *

Lucy and Gru where sat on the sofa. They had just put the girls to bed and where watching some Police show that was on.

Gru noticed that Lucy had her head on his lap, she was not moving, she was silent and her eyes where bolted forward. He lay a hand on her head, making her sit up.

"Are yoo ok?" He asked, stroking her long, let down hair, out of her eyes.

"Yeah. I'm ok. I was just thinking about my hair." Lucy replied, running her fingers through her ginger, silky waterfall.

"Vhat about it? Eet's perfect."

"Hm. I've been thinking about getting it cut, it's always in my face and I'm kinda sick of having to scrape it back into a bun and then curl it every day." Lucy admitted.

"Really? I thought dat yoo liked buns? Yoo said dat they where your favourite hairstyle, apart from plaits and braids."

"They are but, with hair like mine, I just find them so hard to do, not to mention that with hair this length, it takes forever. I'll still put it up in a bun when is short too, but it'll just take less time." Lucy explained.

"Well, vhat length do you want eet?" Gru asked.

"I'd say, just past my shoulders."

"I'd like that." Gru smiled, pulling Lucy in for a hug.

Lucy let out a giggle as Gru accidently tickled her. Gru put on an evil smile.

"Ticklish, are we?" He asked, already knowing the answer from past experiences.

"What? Pfft, no!" Lucy said, playing along.

"We'll see about dat." Gru replied, lunging for his wife and tickled her sides.

"Heyyy! Stttopppp iiiitttt! Haheha!" Lucy giggled and screamed, thrashing.

Lucy then got her own back, when she reached forward and tickled Gru's sides.

"Hhheeeeyyy! Mhahahah! Not fair!" Gru chuckled.

Gru and Lucy smiled, as they sat up and caught their breath.

"I love you, honey bear." Lucy muttered, kissing Gru's cheek.

"Love you too, sweetie." Gru replied.

Lucy smiled as she fell asleep beside Gru on the sofa.

* * *

The next rolled around quickly. Lucy and Gru woke up to one of the minions, dashing into the room.

"Pem polo Jake, Dru yee Stan's orayah!" The minion cried.

"What's the little guy, saying Gru?" Lucy asked, she had to admit that she was awful at minionese, despite taking lessons with Dr Nefario for months, trying to get it right.

"I think dat he's saying dat he's found Dru, Stan and Jake!" Gru shouted excitedly, leaping up from the sofa.

"Oh my gosh!" Lucy cried "where are they little guy?"

"Een Strider's daga lairinthe... ukesub." The minion replied.

"Strider!" Gru and Lucy both screamed.

"He must've kidnapped them! We need to save them!" Lucy said.

"No! Not until yoo get better!" Gru argued.

Lucy sighed, they needed to save their friends, but how? With her in a state, it deemed impossible.

* * *

A long while had gone past and the lair look spectacular. It was clean, tidy, painted silver and it had a functional dungeon.

Dru, Jake and Stan had built the dungeon together, with no help from Strider, despite it being a very hard struggle.

The only thing that Strider had done, as the boys had been rushing around doing his work, was read interior design magazines.

"Well done! Well done indeed! Now, onto the plan. The next stop is The Gru residence, to kidnap Gru!


End file.
